‘Renfield’: Nicolas Cage Shaved His Teeth Down and Spent Three Hours in Makeup Each Day to Transform Into Dracula (EXCLUSIVE)

Michael Bublé is petitioning to become an 'official Glaswegian' after performing two nights at Glasgow's OVO Hydro Arena.

Screams rang out across the ultrasound room as Melissa Hayat tried to process what she had just heard.

The Late Show to promote new vampire movie Renfield.Responding almost immediately, Cage said: “I’m gonna start with Pig — that’s my favourite movie I’ve ever made.”He went on: “I love Mandy, that Panos Cosmatos directed. I love Bringing Out the Dead, that Martin Scorsese directed.

Jenelle Riley Deputy Awards and Features Editor This article first appeared as part of Jenelle Riley’s Acting Up newsletter – to subscribe for early content and weekly updates on all things acting, visit the Acting Up signup page. Sometimes, you find startling accuracy in the most unlikely places. Codependency and toxic relationships have long been fodder for film and television, but lately there’s been a batch of quality entertainment that does an excellent job of depicting the reality of an unhealthy relationship — and the struggle to break free from one. Surprisingly, it’s comedic entertainment that seems to be doing it best as of late. Take the first season of the Apple TV+ comedy “Shrinking,” which depicts a therapist (Jason Segel) trying to help a client (Heidi Gardner) break up with her verbally and emotionally abusive husband. It’s a character arc that rings only too true, expertly captured by “Saturday Night Live” breakout Gardner. Over on HBO Max, the animated series “Harley Quinn” has spent three seasons showing how its titular character starts a new life out from under the shadow of the ultimate toxic boyfriend, the Joker. While it’s a fantastical story that uses heroes and villains with superpowers, the metaphor is apt — Harley Quinn has no identity outside of her famous paramour and has to rebuild her life, and self-worth, on her own.

Five wide releases hit theaters this weekend, but Illumination and Universal’s Super Mario Bros. Movie will reign supreme with a second weekend, -60% of $58M. Already the plumbers have plunged a running stateside total through nine days of $260M, with $300M+ this weekend in sight.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor When director Chris McKay was making “Renfield” he turned to production designer Alec Hammond (“Donnie Darko”) to help deliver a fresh and updated take on the Dracula story, by taking “a big monster movie, rooting it in the classic movies, but subverting any expectations.” The film starring Nicolas Cage as Dracula and Nicholas Hoult as his faithful sidekick Renfield, begins in 1931, in black-and-white. It was important, Hammond says, to set up Cage’s world in the historic context of harkening back to classic Dracula movies before jumping to the present day. The Charity Hospital in New Orleans, which had been abandoned since Hurricane Katrina, was the perfect location for Hammond to set Dracula and Renfield’s modern-day lair.

Stuck in a movie theater seat watching “Renfield” plod along, the answer is a resounding meh.As the Count from “Sesame Street” would say, “‘Renfield’ gets TWO stars! Ah, ah, ah.”Cage — whose career has become so goofy he recently played a parody version of himself who gets kidnapped by a Spanish drug lord — is as funny and self-aware as the evil old vampire. Crazy, it would seem, has become Cage’s new normal. But don’t come looking for a wacky sendup of the story in the vein of Mel Brooks’ “Young Frankenstein.” It’s actually not even as hilarious as that director’s much-worse 1995 movie “Dracula: Dead and Loving It,” and outside of a few basic details the film has little to do with Bram Stoker’s book.“Renfield,” directed by Chris McKay, has more in common with the (far better) “Zombieland” series, with high-body-count action sequences, quick-cut comedy and an unlikely, socially awkward hero. That would be Robert Montague Renfield (Nicholas Hoult), Count Dracula’s beleaguered “familiar,” who has been gifted an unnaturally long life in exchange for bringing the vamp fresh victims.

Few characters manage the passage of time quite like Dracula. From the character’s iconic beginnings as a Universal Studios monster to more recent attempts to craft a shared universe, Dracula adaptations often offer the clearest reflection of both the film industry and broader societal trends.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Expect “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” to capture the high score at the box office… again. Despite the release of two new movies — Universal’s wacky Dracula horror-comedy “Renfield” and Sony’s R-rated demonic thriller “The Pope’s Exorcist” — Universal and Illumination’s animated adaptation of the popular Nintendo video game looks to loom large in its second weekend of release. After its towering $146 million debut, “Mario” is estimated to bring in $58 million to $66 million, a 55-60% decline from its opening. The PG blockbuster, which cost $100 million and brought back the all-important demographic of family audiences, has generated $204.6 million in North America and $375 million globally since opening last Wednesday. It’s already the fourth-highest grossing animated movie in pandemic times, following “Minions: The Rise of Gru” ($939 million), “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” ($480 million) and “Sing 2” ($408 million).

There have been so many variations and film versions of Bram Stoker’s classic Dracula, from 1926’s Nosferatu to Tod Browning’s 1931 Dracula to Francis Coppola’s well-regarded take with Gary Oldman to even comedic satires like Love at First Bite with George Hamilton taking on the role. Now in Universal’s latest effort to rescue its horror classics and make them new again, we have the perfectly cast Nicolas Cage as the Prince of Darkness. Even he has done an offshoot before, in 1988’s Vampire’s Kiss. However this time around the film is not centered on Dracula himself, but rather his beleaguered servant, henchman, whatever you choose to call him, Renfield, and it is another Nicholas, as in Hoult, who has the title role this time in Renfield. Cage’s part, though meaty, is actually supporting as the emphasis turns to the long-suffering assistant who was tasked with bringing his boss’ prey directly to him, consuming bugs of all sorts in order to get superhuman powers to conquer them, and basically taking the fall for anything this narcissistic vampire does not find to his liking.

Chris McKay returns to theaters for the first time since 2017’s “The LEGO Batman Movie” with “Renfield” on April 14. And even though McKay directed “The Tomorrow War” in between, most movie fans still associate the director with his 2017 animated jaunt that features Will Arnett as the Caped Crusader.

Variety Thursday.“Nic wanted to emote and annunciate properly, so it was important the veneers were thin,” he said, explaining that the technology allowed him to make quick adjustments to the sharp dentures when needed.In order to put the 3-D printing to good use, Tinsley had to scan Cage’s teeth and then digitally sculpt them so they could fit in his mouth perfectly.The “National Treasure” actor also spent over three hours daily in the hair and makeup chair.“It was a full head of prosthetics, dentures, full body, torso, arms, hands and nails,” Tinsley noted. “Those take time.”Cage also stayed in character for the whole time they were shooting the flick, even when the camera wasn’t on him.

Want to know how the iconic Dracula teeth were made?

Here’s a hot take: Nicolas Cage is a fascinating actor. Controversial, I know.

Here’s a hot take: Nicolas Cage is a fascinating actor. Controversial, I know.

Nicolas Cage has delivered an impressive array of memorable performances over the years, but it’s safe to say his upcoming turn as Dracula in the horror-comedy “Renfield” promises to be unlike any other.

Nicolas Cage became Dracula while filming Renfield – even when the camera’s were turned off.The film’s director Chris McKay said that the Mandy actor was “living” in character between takes while shooting the upcoming horror comedy. In fact, Cage’s method acting approach to the character was so extreme that McKay said it was like talking to the vampire himself.Speaking to Insider, McKay said: “Whatever scene we did, he would still be 100% living in that attitude after we stopped shooting.

Nicolas Cage has been in well over 100 movies, including “Valley Girl”, “Raising Arizona”, “Leaving Las Vegas”, “Adaptation”, “Con Air”, “Face/Off” and many more. But only one of his films evokes so much emotion from fans it leaves him feeling pain.

Nicolas Cage has been in well over 100 movies, including,,,,, and many more. But only one of his films evokes so much emotion from fans it leaves him feeling pain.The 59-year-old Academy Award winner spoke with ET's Rachel Smith on Monday at the New York City premiere of his upcoming horror-comedy film, and he recalled the bizarre incident that would unfold courtesy of fans enthralled by his 1987 rom-com film, , which also starred the legendary Cher.«For the longest time, back from, I would walk to the airport and people just had a habit of saying, 'Snap out of it!' from — the Cher 'snap out of it' [line] — and I did get slapped a few times,» said Cage, whose revelation left his co-star, Nicholas Hoult, in utter shock.«No, no!» Hoult reacted.«Oh yeah, I did,» Cage confirmed.

Nicolas Cage is looking cool in the red carpet!

Nicolas Cage has delivered an impressive array of memorable performances over the years, but it’s safe to say his upcoming turn as Dracula in the horror-comedy “Renfield” promises to be unlike any other.